It was Lin Feilu’s benevolence that saved her from this crisis.
Consort Xian stated solemnly, “This matter still has to be decided by the Emperor.”
As soon as she finished speaking, an eunuch ran in from the door, reporting anxiously, “The Emperor summons the Fifth Princess.”
Lin Jingyuan could not wait, “I’ll go too! I must ask Father to find the one who tried to murder Little Lu!”
Consort Xian reprimanded him, “Don’t cause disturbance! Kang-an, send the Fourth Prince back.” She turned to address everyone on the side, “Eldest Imperial Prince, Crown Prince, Viscount Xi, you should also go back first. It’s enough for me to accompany the Fifth Princess.”
Emperor Lin only summoned Lin Feilu and it was not good for them to follow, so they all nodded in response.
Emperor Lin already knew what had happened from the guard’s report. When Lin Feilu entered, he was already sitting in the outer room with his coat on. He was fuming in rage. Consort Mei was by his side, her hair still down and unkempt, looking flustered from dressing up hastily.
As soon as Lin Feilu entered, Consort Mei inquired eagerly before Emperor Lin could say a word, “I heard that the assassin only entered the Fifth Princess’ room, are there any injuries? Has the imperial physician checked for any injuries?”
Lin Feilu remained silent, but obediently kneeled and bowed down.
Consort Xian who was standing next to her explained, “The Fifth Princess has lost her voice and can’t speak up because she hurt her throat.”
The last time Emperor Lin saw her was in the plum garden – a little dumpling wrapped up in a red cloak. She was intelligent and cute. The little buns on top of her head were bouncing in liveliness. However at this moment, her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Her eyes were red and swollen. Her clothes and hair were disheveled. She was unable to even utter a single word.
She staggered when she greeted the Emperor.
Emperor Lin became even more furious. He got up and strode over to pick up the little dumpling from the ground. In close proximity, when he could clearly see her tear-filled eyes and her tightly pressed lips, his heart ached even more. He lowered his voice and comforted her as gently as possible, “Don’t be afraid, Father is here.”
Fresh tears filled Lin Feilu’s eyes once more as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing silently.
Emperor Lin’s fatherly heart almost shattered into pieces.
He carried Lin Feilu back to his seat. He embraced the petite body that was trembling in fear and stroked her head with his large palms in consolation. His voice fell when he asked the accompanying Song Yu, “Repeat the incident to me now.”
Song Yu went into detail of the incident again.
It was a pity that she was also a victim. Too frightened from the suffocation, she was not able to see anything clearly, and therefore could not provide any useful information at all. As expected, the guards who went to track down the assassin also returned empty handed.
Emperor Lin interrogated them one by one and found nothing. If it weren’t for the trembling Little Fifth Princess in his arms, he would have flipped the table in front of him. “A bunch of trash! How could you have allowed something like this to happen right under my nose? If the target was me, would you be just as powerless?”
The soldiers knelt down and begged for mercy.
Emperor Lin snorted coldly and turned to Consort Xian, who was next to him, “What does Consort Xian think about this?”
Consort Xian stood with her hands by her sides, and answered slowly, “In my humble opinion, the Fifth Princess is still young, innocent, and should have no enmity. I’m afraid this matter should be related to the previous generation.”
If Consort Xian could deduce that, undoubtedly Emperor Lin could too.